Staff Psychologist

Veterans Health Administration • Johnson City, TN

2d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. The Staff Psychologist provides clinical services to address issues related to mental illness and other complex/diverse psychosocial problems. The incumbent will operate within the general scope of practice for the discipline. This general scope of practice includes diagnosing mental disorders, conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments, treating mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and providing adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders. The modalities provided by the psychologists are individual, family, and group psychotherapies, and other interventions such as biofeedback, psychological hypnosis, and environmental interventions. Psychologists also consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues and are expected to be involved in program evaluation, performance improvement projects, and psychology internship training.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Candidates must have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
• OR, Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a re-specialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship Requirement - You must have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed; OR, New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern; OR, VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre-1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR, Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. ( NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification). OR, Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.
• Licensure - Candidates must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
• GS-11 Level (Entry Level) - None beyond the basic requirements.
• GS-12 Level (Developmental Level) -In addition to the basic requirements above, you must have at least one year of experience as a professional psychologist equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).
• GS-13 Level (Full Performance Level) - In addition to the basic requirements above, you must have at least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

Nice To Haves

• Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Responsibilities

• Ability to diagnose mental disorders and provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services.
• Conduct psychological assessments for clinical or administrative purposes, including Compensation and Pension Examinations.
• Ability to treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders.
• Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including: individual, group and family psychotherapy, caregiver stress support, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal and other forms of evidence-based psychotherapy.
• Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
• Involved in program evaluation and/or research activities.
• Provides administrative duties including, attending organizational meetings.
• May provide clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure in psychology (full performance level).
• Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients (full performance level).
• Presents outcome data and research at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings, as appropriate.
• Assists in preparation of RFP's and grant proposals.
• Serves on Medical Center, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
• After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 .
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree